Opinionated Zimbabwean aid worker detained in South Sudan?

A ZIMBABWEAN aid worker employed by international charity Save the Children has been detained without trial in South Sudan after allegedly discussing politics, raising concerns over the security of humanitarian workers in the conflict-prone country.

Chris Nyamandi, the organisation's South Sudan country director, was reportedly arrested at a hotel in the capital, Juba, on October 8 alongside a colleague working in its business development department.

"They were arrested at a local hotel where they were eating. Authorities said they were discussing politics," a colleague working in the humanitarian sector in South Sudan said.

A briefing by the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), which provides security information and risk management services to humanitarian organisations, confirmed that an NGO staff member had been arrested in Juba.

"Officials arrested an NGO staff member for unknown reasons in Juba Town Payam in Juba County," the briefing said.

The organisation warned of a deteriorating security situation, noting that recent weeks had brought a more restrictive operating environment in and around Juba, increased checkpoint activity and less predictable movement procedures.

The colleague said Nyamandi was being held at Blue House, the headquarters of South Sudan's National Security Service in Juba.

Save the Children had not responded to questions by the time of publication, although the organisation was reportedly working behind the scenes to secure his release.

Nyamandi's detention comes amid heightened political uncertainty in South Sudan, where President Salva Kiir has dissolved the transitional government ahead of elections that have been repeatedly postponed since the country gained independence in 2011.

On September 22, Kiir issued a decree dissolving the transitional government, national legislature and state governments, three months before the scheduled December 22 elections.

He subsequently appointed a caretaker administration as the country prepares for its first national elections since independence.

The move effectively ended the existing power-sharing arrangement established under a 2018 peace agreement that brought an end to five years of civil war, during which an estimated 400,000 people were killed.

South Sudanese analyst Machot Amuom said the dissolution of state governments had further heightened insecurity by leaving key local government positions vacant.

Nyamandi's detention adds to concerns about the operating environment for humanitarian organisations working in South Sudan as political tensions rise ahead of the planned elections.